E lectr i fyi ng
Of f - R o a d Pe rf o r m a nc e
Written by Simon Hastelow
One day soon(ish) you won’t be fuelling your 4x4 with diesel or petrol you’ll just plug it in at home. There are people still saying hydrogen is the way forward, but the days of oil-based fuel are numbered, best get used to it. Let me present you with the ideal setup for a serious off-road vehicle - a motor at each corner, powering the wheels separately. You could vary the power on the fly, or more likely let a computer do it for you, and traverse any terrain with ease. No need for prop-shafts, difflocks or lower gearing (transfer boxes). Every wheel will be given the exact amount of torque to get it past an obstacle, and if it slips then the motors at the other corners can increase torque instead. I defy you to come up with a more perfect arrangement.
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This is obviously just a dream at the moment, there are no mainstream SUVs which offer this yet - with the exception of the Rivian (I'll tell you more in a minute) - but there are companies experimenting with that very setup, and even deploying it into specialist trucks. So it might not be far off. What we have to make do with at the moment is a motor with ultimately variable gearing and maximum torque available from the moment you press the ‘ON’ button. The only contentious issue is the fact that the motors are powered by electricity which is stored in a battery. For some reason just discussing this system triggers anger and rage to many a keyboard warrior.
